Butter-cutter



`lrA'. SIMPSON.

lBUTTER CUTTER. A'Prfucmfmu' FILED mm. 21. an

Patented May 6,1919;vk

Tm. SIMPSON.' BUTTER CUTTER. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2T. ISH.

Paiend May 6, 1919;

'//2 SHEETS- SHEET 2.

y f .rramvev is a front view, of a bitin.

'with the cutting 'of the same.

of the invention is to provide such a butter I *entraran sTATEs PATENT onirica.

RUFUS A. SIMPSON, OF OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

BUTTER-CUTTER.

escasas.

d application inea Merch 27, 1917. serial No. 157,596.

cutter in which there will be 11o tendency of the butter to reunite after it has been cut into squares, which will be noiseless in operation, which can readily be adjusted to vary ,the thickness of the squares of butter which are cut thereby, of which thevparts can easily be taken apart to be cleaned, which will cony tain simple and elfective means for advancing the butter and for cutting o' the squares of butter, and a support therefor which can be readily detached and ,packed in small coinpa.

In' the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side View of my improved butter cutter; 2 is a broken sideview'of va portion of the butter guide; Fig. 3 is a cross section. on the line 3*-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a side view of the front end of the butter cutter observed f from the side opposite to that inl Fig. l; F ig. 5 is a sectional view of the line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a follower looking frointhe front; Fig. 7 is a perspective view thereof looking from the rear; Fig. 8 is a broken `end View of the butter cutter; Fig.' 9`is a broken rear end view thereof; Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line 10-10 of 8'; Fig. 11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view on the line 11-111 of Fig. 9; Fig. 12 is a side View, and Fig. 13

is a broken plan view showing the Inode of operation of the, follower.

Referring to the drawing, 1 indicates a V-shaped'trough, the sides of which` are at right angles to each other. From the bottom of said trough depends a longitudinally extending` integral web 2 having transverse` fianges 3 at its vertical, or front and rear. edges so that it is -shaped 1n cross section.

'Said web can be clamped vbetween the upwardly extending and substantially parallel ends oft two legs e extending obliquely in a transverse tertical plane, the lower ends of Specification of Letters Patent.

pawl; Fig: 14 A Patent-eu iuay e, raie.

' which are bent horizontally outward, and are apertured to'permit them to. be secured ,by screws 6 to a table 7 or other suitable support A thumb screw 8 extends through holes in said upwardly extending ends, and, between said ends, extends also through Aa recess or notch 9 (see Fig. 2) in the lower end ofsaid web and is screwed in a hole in a horizontally extending upper end 11. of leg` 12 'extending obliquely in a longitudinal vertical plane, the lower end 'of which leg 12 is bent outwardly and is apertured to per-'- mit it to be secured'by va screw 13 to the table or other support. By screwing the thumb screw through said hole in the end 1l of the oblique leg 12, the up- 'wardly extending' ends of the Vtwo legs el are drawn together, .thus clamping firmly between them the web 2, and, since each up-4 wardly extending end fits snugly between the flanges 3 of the web 2, said trough isvery firmly held on the tripodformed by-said legs while, at the same time, it can be. very quickly removed therefrom, and said legs can be folded up for convenience in transportation or storage.

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Secured by screws 14 upon one end ofthe trough, is a square cutter frame 16, having cutter blades 17, which cross each other at right angles midway between the sides of the cutter frame and form with said sides four squares, through which the butter or other material is forced, thus 'cutting said material into four separate prisms or columns. Said cutter blades cach taper from the front or outer edge t0 a sharp inner or cutting edge.

18 indicates a bracketor post rii'feted to the upper surface of one side of the trough,

and secured in said bracket by a pin. 19 in a bearinofor a shaft 20, the front end of which extends througha bearing 21, formed integral with the cutter frame. 0n the front end of said shaft, and projecting-infront of said bearing, is a sleeve 22, secured to said.

shaft by a tapering pin 23 passing through registering holes in said sleeve and shaft, and from said sleeve 22 extends a bosT crank arm 24, from the outerend of which extends,

'parallelwith said shaft, a stem 26 carrying a handle 27 To the rear end of the finger 28 of said bow crank 24 is secured an cud of ra fine cutting. wire 29. 'Said wire is Wound around said linger, and then extends to, and around, a lug 31 cast upon the rear end of the sleeve, and then in a helical direction around said sleeve, and then through a hole through the smaller end of the pin 23.

The pin, being'turned about its axis, causes 'the wire to be wound around it, and to be ldrawn taut between the finger. 28 and the lug 31. The wire 29 serves to out smallv the wire. The end of the wire, being secured to the end of the pin 23, also serves the purpose of retaining ythe pin in theregistermg holes in the sleeve 22 and shaft 20.

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Surrounding the shaft 20 is a tube 32, the front end of which is contained within the bearing 21. The rear end of the tube is secured within one end of a pusher 35, in the other end of which is screwed an adjusting rod 34 which can slide through a bearing 36 in the post 18, and is pressed rearwardly through said bearing by a spring 37 around the rod 34, and compressed between the bearing 36 and a pin 38 extending transversely through the rear end of thev rod. A pin 39, extending through the rod in front of said bearing 36, Ilimits the rearward movement 0f the rod. p u

Secured around the shaft 20, between the pusher and the post 18, is a short tube 41, which at its front end is expanded to form a cam 42, which bears against the rear side of4 the pusher 35. The edge of this cam 42 is smooth and continuous, or free from abrupt turns, so that its action is noiseless.

43 indicates a follower, having a substantially square 'front face 44 formed with transverse grooves 46 extending midway between its sides, `and having also a rearwardly extending runner 47. Said runner moves in contact with the lowermost portions. of the upper surfaces of the trough. It serves to add weight to the rear side of said follower and steady the same. Said follower is also formed with a rearwardly extending stud 48,the purpose of which is to form a sto'p upon which can rest the free end of a biting pawl 49, the other end of which loosely surrounds the tube 32, and,

when the tube 32 moves forward, bites or grips said tube, so as to move forward with it, advancing the `follower. brtter is thus advanced between the cutter blades, thereby also advancing the four prisms into which the butter is cut by said blades. While the cam isffturning so that its highest portion no longer engages the rear edge of the pusher, and the forward move- The block ofk ment of the follower and butter has ceased, the cutting wire is passing closely adjacent to the 'front surface of the cutter frame, cutting off the squares of butter. During this time the tube 32 is returning under the pressure of the coiled spring 37. The distance `through which it returns depends upon the maximum distance through which the pin 3 9 travels in front 0f the bearing 36, and this can be varied by screwing the rod 34 into or out of the pusher 35. Upon the magnitude lthe biting pawl 49 and also to prevent the biting pawl itself being carried backv with the tube 32, the finger 56 on the arm 54 being provided for this latter object.

By the use of cutter blades having a sharp cutting edge the squares of butter or other material into which the material is out are completelv separated from each other, and do not tend to unite after passing said cutter frame. In this respect my invention is an improvement on prior butter cutters in which the block of butter is cut into squares or columns by -means of fine wires. Said wires do not permanently spread the butter on opposite sides of the wire, but, on account of the small surface of the wire, the butter tends to creep back, when the wire has passed through it, and ll to a great degree the narrow empty space that has been created,4 and adhere together. When the .cutting-off wire performs its function of slicing the prisms into small .blocks or squares, it draws the butter into said empty space and this greatly increases the tendency of the particles of butter to adhere, so that it is necessary to separate them by hand, after being cut.

Moreover, said wires which are used to divide the butter into prisms or columns bel fore cutting it into squares, however taut, yield ylo a certain degree, both longitudinallyl ,and transversely. When the cuttingoff write is moved transversely to the butter to cut it into squares, the cross wires give little assistance to the butter in resisting the transverse pressure of the cutting-off wire,

tending to displace the butter. Consequently, when cross wires havs been used, it has been proposed to employ a longitudinally extending bar piercing the mass of butter for the purpose of holding same in position while being cut. It is evident that with myimproved cutting frame there is no Leonesa necessity for using such a bar, as the blades .of the cutting frame hold the butter very rigidly against the transverse pressure of the cutting-Utl wire, when being out.

In my invention the blades spread the whole in'ass oit butter, while the cross'wires .do not spread. the saine, but they only torce .the small portion of the butter Acontacting ineiit owing to breakage, as do the wires.

It will be seen on reference to Fig. 10 that .not only do the cutting blades 17 increase in thickness outward, butv that the opposite faces a of the lower portion of the vcutting frame, adjacent to the side of the trough, slope outwardly, or downward, andv are suh-A staiitially parallelv with the lower vlaces b of tliecorresponding cutter blades 17 The result of this is to cause the lower prisms of butter to be deflected downward, as they pass through the cutter frame and therefore to be separated from the upper prism of butter. The upper 'edge of said cutter traine, which is not adjacent to a side of the trough, does not, however, diverge from the cutting blades as do the lower edges, b-ut converges thereto. The object of this construction is to allow more room for the end of theblock of |butter to enter the space between the sides of the cutter frame and the blades. If the space between the cutter blades and the edges ofthe cutter traine were no wider on the side on which the butter enters the frame, than on the side on which it leaves it, there would be a danger of the cutting frame shearing off aA thin slice of butter from the top of the block. By makin these spaces of the sanie width as that o the lowerinost space on the' side on which t-lie butter leaves the frame, but to a geatcr width on the side on which the butt enters the frame, this danger'is avoided.

l ain we first, as far as I am aware, to provide ip a butter cutter ot' this type, a follower which is absolutely unattaehed to the. trough or any other part of the butter cutter, The principal advantage ol this construction is that the follower can be almost instantaneously removed for the purpose of Washing and cleaning the saine, and as quickly re,- placed. h" It will also be noted how quickly the trough may be detached from the tripod for the saine purpose. To do this it is only necessary to nnscrew the screw 8 a turn or two, when the trough can be immediately lifted olf.

1. ln abuttei cutter the combination of a trough havin a depending integral web recessed iii its iliottoin edge, two' oblique legs having upper ends extending upwardly on opposite sides of said web, a third oblique leg extending in a direction to toi-in a tripod with the other legs, and a device clamping together said web vand the upper' ends of said legs.

ln a butter cutter the coiiibin ation. elia trough having a depending integral web recessed in its bottom edge, two oblique legs having upper ,ends extending upwardly on opposite sides of said web, atliird oblique leg extending in a direction to torni a. tripod with the other legs, said legs haviiig'holes in their upper ends, and a clamping device ex'- tending through said holes and through a recess in the lower end ol' said web.

3. ln ay butter cutter the combination. oi'va trough having a depending integral web flanged at its vertical edges, and recessed in its bottoni edge, two oblique legs having up per ends extending upwardly "on opposite sides of said web and fitting snugly between said flanges, a third oblique leg extending in Va direction to forni a. tripod with the other legs, said legs having holes in their upper ends, and a clamping device extending through said holes.

4s. ln a butter cutter, a cutter frame having a cutter blade tapering in cross-section to a sharp cutting edge, dividing the interior of the frame into rectangular spaces, alli inner surface of the edge of the traine on the side of one of said spaces opposite to the sleeve on theront end of said shaft, a crank arm extending from said sleeve, a finger extending rearwardly from said crank arm, a wire of which one end is secured to the rear end of saidE linger, alug on said sleeve to which said wire extends, said wire then extending around said sleeve, and a tapering pin in registering holes in the sleeve and shaft and to which the other end of the wire is attached.

(3. The combination ot a trough-shaped guide for butter, a device for `iiiterinittently advancing the butter in said guide, a pusher, onel portion of which is secured to said device, an4 adjusting rod screwed` into anotlici portion of the pusher, a spring for pressing said adjusting rod rearwardly, and means 'for' limiting the. rearward movement ot' said rod.

7. The combination of a trough-shaped guide for butter, a. shaft supported thereby; la tubearound the shaft, means, operated by ies l lill izo

Miti.

tently advancing the-pusher, an adjusting rod screwed into another portion of the pusher, 'a spring for pressing said adjusting rod rearwardly, and means for limiting the rearward movement of said r'od.

8. The combination of a trough-shaped guide, a shaft parallel with said guide,

means carried by said guide having bearings for the ends of the shaft, a tube around the shaft, a pusher secured to the rear' end of the tube, a cam secured around said shaft rearwardly, and means for limiting the rear ward movement of said pusher.

10. The combination of a trough-shaped guide for butter, a shaft parallel with said guide, means carried by said guide having bearings for the ends of the shaft, a tube around the shaft, a pusher secured to the rear end of the tube, a cam secured around said shaft and engaging.' said pusher to ad vance the same, an adJusting rod screwed into the pusher, a spring for pressing sald adjusting rod rearwardly, and means .for

limiting the rearward movement of said rod.

11. The .combination of a butter guide, a shaft supported 'by said guide, a tube aroundvthe shaft,l means whereby a reciprocating motion of the tube advances the butter, a pusher secured to the rear end of the tube, a cam secured around' said shaft and engaging said pusher, its cam edge being free from abrupt changes in curvature.

12. In a butter cutter, a butter guide, and .a follower therein having a runner extending. rearwardly and closely adjacent to the lowermost portion of the guide. L

13. In a butter cutter, a butter guide, a follower therein, a shaft, a tube s lidable thereon, a biting pawl having a portion surrounding said tube, the outer end of said pawl engaging said follower, means for weciprocating said tube, and means whereby said pawl moves with said tube in one drection, but not in the other.

14. In a butter cutter, a butter guide, a follower therein, a longitudinally extending device, a biting pawl having a portion surrounding said device, the outer end of said biting pawl engaging said follower, means for reciprocating said device, and means rounding said tube, the outer end of said bitingy pawl engaging said follower, and4 means for reciprocating said tube, said follower having" a rearwardly extend-in ystud against which the outer end of the itmg pawl engages in its operative position.

`16. In abutter cutter, a butter guide, a

follower therein, a longitudinally extending device, a biting pawl having a portion surrounding said device, the outer end of said biting pawl engaging said follower, and

means-'for reciprocating said device, said l follower having a' rearwardly extending stud against which the 'outer end of the bitingl pawl engages in 'its operative posltion.

17. In a butter cutter, a butter guide, a follower therein, a-shaft, a tube slidable thereon, a biting pawl having a portion surrounding'said tube, the outer end of said bitin'g pawl engaging said follower, means for'reciprocating said tube, any an arm pivotally supported by said follower and holding the biting pawl to the follower.

18. Ina butter cutter, a butter guide, a follower therein, a longitudinally extending device, a biting pawl having a portion sur- .biting pawl engaging said fol bwer, means for reciprocating said device, anarm pivotally supported by said follower and a finger extending from said arm and engaging said biting pawl. I

19. In a butter cutter, a butter guide, a follower therein, a shaft, a tube slidable thereon,'a biting pawl having a portion surrounding said tube, the outer end .of said biting pawl engaging said follower, means for reciprocating .said tube, and a weighted arm pivotally supportedl by said follower and holding the biting pawl to the follower.l

20. In a butter cutter, a butter guide, a. follower therein, a longitudinally extending device, a biting pawl having a portion surrounding saidI device, the outer end of said biting pawl 4engaging said follower, means for reciprocating said device, a weighted arm pivotally vsupported by said follower, and a finger extending from said arm. and engaging said biting pawl. p

21. In a butter cutter, a cutter guide .and a follower therein wholly free from, or un- 'attached to, any part of the butter cutter,

and means for advancing the follower.

R. A. SIMPSON.

ion 

